Four Directions
by Wldwmn
Summary: AU Red John/Patrick Jane final showdown fic, from a different perspective. Drama, friendship, and even some spirituality.


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist. I'm just borrowing the characters and I'll put them back neatly when I'm done. Oh, and I don't own Captain Planet either.**

**Summary: A Red John/Patrick Jane final showdown fic, from a different perspective. A bit dark. Drama, friendship, and even some spirituality.**

**Four Directions**

"So we're agreed?" Lisbon asked her team quietly. Cho, Rigsby and VanPelt looked at her, and then nodded. "Good. I know I can count on you. I trust you all with my life, and you need to trust me. We follow the plan and we keep in touch. When I give the word, even if the word is 'run,' you'll have to act immediately."

"We're not going to leave you and Jane-" Rigsby began, but Lisbon cut him off.

"If that's what I ask, you _have_ to. I'll need to make a quick decision and you've got to trust that it's the right one. If any of you can't do that tonight, I need to know right now," she said, looking at their faces.

VanPelt was the first to answer. "I trust you, Boss. You say it, I'll do it. I just wish that this wasn't necessary."

"Don't we all," intoned Cho in his typical deadpan. "I'm still in, Boss. I swear I'll follow your word."

Lisbon smiled, then looked at Rigsby. "Well?"

Rigsby didn't hesitate this time. "I promise."

Lisbon relaxed. "Okay. I'll see you all later." As the three agents left her office, she sat down and sighed. It was going to be a long time until morning, and not for the first time that day she thought –Am I out of my mind?-

###

Two days earlier, it had been business as usual. Well, more like serious crimes as usual. They had all been finishing up the paperwork on a bank heist murder. Teresa Lisbon was answering a particularly caustic-worded complaint towards Patrick Jane, when the consultant himself walked into her office. "Can I speak to you right now?" he said, an unfamiliar tone of anxiety in his voice.

Lisbon opened her mouth to tell him that he could wait until she was done saving his job, but one look at his face and the comment died in her throat. "Yes. Close the door."

"I know where he is." Jane said as soon as the latch clicked.

There was no question in Lisbon's mind who "he" was. Not with Jane looking like that. So she didn't ask, she just said "How?"

"I can't tell you. But I know the information is solid. I know where he is, and I'm going to get him, Lisbon. So I wanted to tell you I won't be around for about a week… or more if it doesn't go well. I didn't want you to worry needlessly," he finished, then frowned when he saw the look on her face.

"Jane, of course I'm going to worry now! If you _didn't_ want me to worry, you should've told me you were taking a vacation to Paris for a week. But no, you had to tell me the truth and finish by saying 'no worries'. You jerk." Lisbon wasn't shouting, but her eyes were hard and her lips were set in a thin straight line. She was furious.

"I'm sorry. It seems like there's nothing I can do but put you in a terrible position with this. No matter what." Jane sighed, and stared at the floor for a moment. "All right, the real truth is that you're the best friend I have in the world right now. For once, I just really didn't want to lie to you." He still couldn't look at her, obviously embarrassed by his confession.

Lisbon snapped "Don't think you're going to get around me with that one, mister! Even if it is the truth I'm not impressed. You realize that the best scenario, the one when you don't end up Stone Dead, is that you become a vicious murderer? And now you've made me an accessory with foreknowledge of a felony." She then sighed. "I can't believe you're doing this to me, Jane. This is how you treat your friend?"

Jane still had his eyes on the floor, and for all appearances looked genuinely unhappy. "I'm so sorry, Lisbon. Twice in one lifetime, huh? First Bosco, now me. You must come across as the most trustworthy woman alive-"

"The most-put-upon-by-my-supposed-friends woman alive, you mean." Lisbon interrupted. "So what's the bad news?"

Jane was shocked. How had she - "Bad news?"

"Yes, the bad news. There's always good news and bad news, and finding _him_ is good news, for you anyway. So I know this isn't the whole story. A smart cop waits for the other shoe to drop, Jane." Lisbon said flatly, and stared at him. "Out with it."

Jane finally met her eyes. "The bad news is I want you to help me."

###

Lisbon hadn't believed him at first. It was one thing to essentially shut up and not interfere. She knew from past experience that she could learn to live with that. But to have him flat out ask for her help subverting the justice system for his personal revenge? It had stunned her.

Now, as the hour came closer, she arranged her equipment on her desk. It was a short checklist: watch, gun, second gun, earbud talkie, cel phone. Nothing else, not even her ID. It was all any of the team was carrying, well, except Jane. She hadn't wanted to hear his list.

###

Lisbon couldn't believe it. Even her worst-case scenario hadn't gone down that road. "Are you crazy? Help you? Wait, help you _how_, exactly?"

"You're not flat out saying no. You're considering doing it. You wouldn't ask for details otherwise." Jane said, analyzing her outburst in a split second.

"You don't know everything, Jane. For all you know I'm recording this and it'll be used in evidence against you," Lisbon said coldly.

"It's not impossible, but that's not what's happening." Jane smiled. "I may not know everything, Lisbon, but I know you. You're considering it. Thank you."

Lisbon herself couldn't explain what she said next. "Don't thank me yet, Jane. I still might say no."

###

It was at that moment, when that treacherous statement left her lips, that Lisbon had realized she hated Red John personally. She actually hated him, not just considered him a criminal and a sick psychopath. He was the one responsible for what Jane had gone through, brutally murdering Jane's wife and child. Red John was also responsible for the death of Sam Bosco and his team, even though he hadn't pulled the trigger himself. Two of her friends' lives, destroyed.

She knew as an officer of the law she had sworn to seek justice. But was the law just in Red John's case? Did he deserve to live in comfort while his court case dragged on for years? Safe and sound and tended to with tax payer dollars while his victims moldered and their loved ones suffered on and on? The law was what she lived with, and what she sought stability in. Justice, on the other hand, was often harder to achieve.

She checked her watch. Almost time.

###

Jane outlined a simple plan. He knew of a building destined for demolition in a few days time. He was going to contact Red John and arrange to meet him there the night before the scheduled destruction. A final showdown, he called it, and Lisbon laughed at the phrase. It made it sound like a corny western instead of a real life-or-death situation.

"What I need from you, Lisbon, is insurance. I need to know that if I die in there he's dead too. I can't leave this unfinished. After that I don't care. Leave both our bodies under the rubble forever. If I die I don't want to be found. And he doesn't deserve to be." Jane said.

Lisbon blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "No. If you want my help, I have two conditions. I'm not leaving you in there, no matter what. Dead or alive, you're coming out. That's the first."

Jane was quiet for a moment, then said "I guess I can't really make you do anything if I'm not alive. So I accept your first condition."

"Good." Lisbon breathed out in relief. "And the second, well, I know you're going to hate it. I want the rest of the team with us."

"What?" Jane spluttered. "No! That would just put more lives in danger, whether by injury or just career suicide. If it's just you and me and Red John, it can be kept a secret. Three people can keep a secret, you know."

Lisbon finished the quote "If two are dead. We're still coming at this from different sides, Jane, even though we're on the same side. I'd prefer to live. And Cho, Rigsby and VanPelt being there equals more insurance, more chances that you and I will go home when it's over."

Jane was a little surprised. "Just you and I? No bringing Red John in for lawful justice? You're really serious. You're accepting this far more easily than I thought." He then frowned again. "But the team? I don't want to endanger them, I really don't. If I could see any way to do this where I didn't have to include and endanger you, I would. But three more lives is too many."

Lisbon held up her hands. "It's condition number two, Jane. Non-negotiable. If any of the team says no, that's one thing. But I want to ask them. If I can't, I'm not going along with this. Period." She crossed her arms, daring him to argue further.

He didn't.

###

Lisbon approached each team member individually. She didn't want what the others did to have any effect on an individual's decision. That wouldn't have been fair. Cho had agreed immediately, not flinching. VanPelt had been slower, obviously unhappy. Lisbon had told her that she absolutely did not need to be involved, but swore her to secrecy about the questioning. An hour later, VanPelt sent Lisbon a text message with a single word – "Yes." Rigsby said he would do it from the start, though he asked a lot of questions. She arranged for them to meet as a group, but without Jane. He had his own plan to work through.

"We're taking points on the outside of the condemned structure. There are four of us so we each take a compass direction." Lisbon said once the team was huddled together.

"What about Jane?" Cho asked.

"Jane's on the inside. We're not directing his actions. We're on the outside. I'm in the north. Cho, I want you in the south. VanPelt, east and Rigsby, west. The four of us will be in contact by radio. We'll be using elements as code names in case someone hacks the frequency. I'm Water. VanPelt, you're Fire. Rigsby, you'll answer to Air. And Cho, you're Earth. Any reference to Jane will be Spirit."

"What is this, Captain Planet?" Rigsby grumbled, but a serious glare from Lisbon shut him down. "Sorry, Boss."

"No non-essential communication via the radio. No grumbling, no chitchat. No switching code names." Lisbon sighed, and closed her eyes. "I'm asking you to leave your IDs behind for this. This is not official and I won't make it worse by putting its unofficial status in any doubt should we fail."

"We won't fail, Boss." VanPelt said.

"One last thing: None of you are to take any direct action against Red John unless it is in defense of your life. Even if you seen Jane's dead body. Even if Red John runs right past you. You will instead tell me _immediately_ and I will move. Is that clear?" Lisbon finished, and waited. No one raised any objections.

"So we're agreed?"

###

They waited in the dark on each side of the building. The air was chill, and rain was falling. Each agent was hidden, quiet and thoughtful. Not even the mist of their breath showed in the shadows that concealed them. Lisbon bit her lower lip nervously. –I'm out of my mind,- she thought, -but I don't care. One way or another, this ends tonight.-

"Water, this is Fire," came over her radio.

"Acknowledged, Fire, go ahead" Lisbon whispered.

"Water, I understand the need for no unnecessary communication, but may I offer up a short prayer?" came the reply.

"Okay, Fire, yes. Anyone else may add as well." Lisbon said, then waited.

"Dear Lord, please forgive us for what we have to do. Fire out." VanPelt said.

"Amen. Next?"

"This is Earth. Dear Lord, please let Spirit get the bastard. Out." Cho said.

"Thank you. Amen."

"Air here. Dear Lord, please give us the strength to do what we must and live with what comes after. Out." Rigsby said.

"Amen. Water out." Lisbon said. She breathed in deeply, and privately prayed. "Dear Lord, I know I haven't spoken to you since Mom died." A tear leaked from each eye, quickly lost in the drizzling rain. "But I'm asking for one thing tonight: that the person who comes out of that building is still Patrick Jane. I know he will be the one who wins his revenge, but I don't want him to lose himself. Please Lord. Let him come back to us as himself, somehow."

She turned rapidly, gun aimed, as shuffling footsteps came from behind her.

Patrick Jane looked terrible. His eyes were glassy and showed signs of shock. He had lost a clump of hair. And he was covered in blood. Lisbon lowered her weapon, and said "Jane? It's Lisbon. Do you know me?" He looked at her and nodded. "That's a lot of blood, Jane."

He nodded again, and said in strange choked voice "If it makes you feel any better, most of it's not mine."

Lisbon got on the radio. "It's done. Team, scatter. I'll be in communication later. Water out." She then moved closer to Jane. "I'm going to get you out of here. You need to come with me. Do you understand? Do you remember that you can trust me?"

Jane was still very dazed and shocked. "I had to come out in the north. That's where you were. I remembered."

"That's right. I'm north. Now you need to come with me, Jane. Take my hand and I'll get us out of here." She held out her hand to him, and he looked at it for a moment before taking it.

###

They were silent as she drove him back to her apartment. For one thing, her building had an incinerator. Jane removed every item of clothing, including his shoes. Lisbon would end up burning them later. She averted her eyes as he stepped into her shower, and went to leave the bathroom when his voice called out. "Don't leave me alone."

"I won't. I'm right here," she said, and closed the door. She went to sit down, and when she heard muffled sounds coming from the shower said, "Jane, it's me. It's your best friend. You cry if you need to cry. I'm not leaving you alone."

She heard him take a deep breath, and winced as it came out as a wail. The cry didn't sound like manly snuffling, or even sobs of misery. It was as if he was a child again, with no regard for holding in his sorrow. The wail came again and again, and it hurt to hear it. It was almost unbearable, but she stayed.

Lisbon figured the water had long since gone cold by the time she heard him turn it off. She grabbed a towel and held it out in front of her when he stepped out of the tub. He seemed completely out of it, and made no move to dry himself. So she rough toweled him dry, as if he was one of her little brothers all those years ago. She knew Jane was a couple years her senior, but she felt older than him at that moment. She felt older than she had ever before in her life.

Lisbon let Jane sleep in her bed. The couch was perfectly comfortable for her and he needed a real night's sleep, maybe the first real night's sleep since it all began.

###

The other shoe dropped the next morning.

Lisbon watched the television, checking for any sign that the night's activities had been noticed or discovered. But the news was ordinary. Then she wandered into her bedroom to check on Jane. He was awake, but he didn't move. "Jane, are you all right?" Lisbon said, walking over to him and taking his hand. He looked at her and his eyes showed recognition, but he didn't smile. The hand she grasped squeezed back, but he didn't speak. After two hours with no change, Lisbon called Rigsby and asked him to come over and help move Jane to the sofa.

Rigsby watched as Jane just lay there. "What's happened to him, Boss?"

Lisbon shrugged. "I don't know. I've been thinking about it all morning, and it's as if someone pushed a reset button. He's like a baby again. A baby that recognizes loved ones, but that can't speak or walk. He needs care and serious therapy. Preferably somewhere overseas."

###

Six months had passed. The building had been demolished as scheduled, obliterating what had happened that night. No investigation ever occurred; no one but them knew there was anything to investigate. Lisbon had offered each member of the team a chance to transfer, in case the personal burden was too heavy to stay. No one asked to leave. They were weighed down by their secret, but loyalty kept them together.

Lisbon received regular progress reports from the facility in Liechtenstein, but while Patrick Jane was making remarkable progress after "an unknown but life-shaking trauma", in the last report he still wasn't speaking.

Lisbon was at her desk, finishing up a last triplicate form when her phone rang. Without even checking the caller ID she answered. "Agent Lisbon, CBI."

The voice on the other end was weak but unmistakable. "Lisbon, it's me."

Her stomach flipped. "Jane? You're talking!"

"Apparently so. In fact, I'm being told that getting me to shut up is the difficulty at present." Jane's soft words had the ghost of the old familiar smirk behind them.

"Oh, Jane, I was so worried." Lisbon murmured. "Not a word out of you for six months. I was really frightened that you weren't ever coming back."

"I'll come back right now, if you'll get me. But I know that's not what you meant. Did you know I heard your prayer that night?" Jane said, his voice a little stronger with each word. "It didn't really sink in at the time, obviously. But it must have stuck in somewhere, because this morning I woke up and I said 'I'm still myself.' It didn't make sense to anyone here, of course, but I knew it would mean something to you. So, when _are_ you coming to get me?"

"As soon as possible. I'll make arrangements and be there in no more than a day or two. I'll see you then, Jane." Lisbon said, and hung up.

She didn't jump up and down. She didn't shout for joy. Her burden of responsibility and secrecy wouldn't allow for that. But Lisbon did let herself smile as she started rearranging her work schedule and making travel plans. And the plane ticket purchase seemed almost redundant, because her heart was already flying.

**The End**

**A/N: This story walked into my head and wouldn't leave. Not my normal subject matter or style, but it insisted. Thanks for reading.**


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